Intertwined
by LyreBirdV
Summary: Would you really follow the person destined for you?
1. Pilot

**A/N: Hey guys, so I decided to take a break from one-shots and give a crack at a little series. This will be a sort of alternate universe since the story line will be followed extremely vaguely. I'm not entirely sure if I want to continue this series or not. So tell me what you think! Any criticism and ideas will be greatly appreciated.**

Loving your own family is born into you as you become part of your parents. Loving someone else generally ends up being a mystery. Most people never know who they'll fall in love with or who won't last. Most people never even find "the one". The Shiryoku clan just so happens not to be most people.

A young married couple consisting of a woman and man smiled at each other while the woman sat in a hospital bed. The woman is holding a tiny pink bundle in her arms, strangely this tiny pink bundle already had a little red string around her tiny new born finger even though the baby herself won't be able to see it until much later. This was uncommon since the red string only showed up when the baby was older and could form conscious thoughts. The new mother sighed at the thought of this precious baby belonging to someone else other than her mother and father.

"She already belongs to another, my dear Toshio, what should we do?" The mother asked her husband.

"Let her follow her destiny, but let her know that we will always love her." The man replied with sadness in his voice.

"What is the young one's name, lady Hareta?" Hareta Shiryoku's mid-wife, an old lady named Emiko, asked her. Hareta thought of a name while staring at her only little girl, but all she could think of was how early that string appeared. At last she smiled and replied "Unmei".

"Our little girl is destined for greatness." The father said to his wife. He smiled and hugged her carefully, trying to avoid hurting her and his daughter.

"Indeed she is. That is a fitting name for an heiress. It is a little ironic though since it means destiny." Emiko said in a light and humoristic tone. She was also part of the Shiryoku clan, but since she was married into it, she did not possess the Kekkei Genkai. Hareta and Toshio were both born into the clan and they are very distant family, but since they were the only ones fated with each other and in the same clan, they were made the head of the clan.

"Well of course, we need something to tease her about." Toshio laughed.

Emiko took Unmei from Hareta so that she could rest. Hareta looked over at Toshio in worry. Neither of them wanted to lose their daughter to someone else when they've only known her for a few minutes. The elders would request for her to go and find when her partner and return when she comes of age.

"She'll be ready for anything. Any kunoichi from Kirigakure would be." Toshio said bitterly. They didn't plan on staying in Kirigakure forever since the Shiryoku clan was famous for travelling in search of their partners. Most of the clan's members have already scattered around the nations and opted for a routine meeting in one of the nations. Each nation has two clan leaders from the Shiryoku clan. The Shiryoku clan aren't loyal to anyone but their partners and the nations have come to understand that by now. It wasn't an issue since the clan leaders remained neutral and the members could become a shinobi to any village they wished. Toshio and Hareta planned on moving to a different village in the water nation after the birth of Unmei since they feared for their child in such a vicious place.

"Can we even move with her thread this bright?" Hareta asked Toshio. Toshio stared at the wall in front of them in deep thought.

Toshio, the quick thinker that he is, came to a conclusion. "We'll have to wait and see who the lucky person is; maybe we can take the person with us." He said.

Hareta smiled at Toshio with her eyes half closed. She seemed to be getting more tired by the second. Toshio smiled back and held Hareta before kissing her forehead.

"Rest well." Toshio whispered to Hareta.

"Y-you too." Hareta answered, nearly asleep.

Toshio laughed quietly before leaving his wife's hospital room.

As Toshio walked down the hall in thought, he bumped into a little toddler. The toddler growled at Toshio with tiny teardrops etched on the corners of his eyes. The toddler seemed to be seconds away from letting those tears drop. Toshio immediately bent down to see if the kid was alright. He noticed that the kid couldn't be more than two years old. This child also had the string brightly etched on his tiny finger. Toshio vaguely wondered why this generation of kids were destined with partners so quickly. In his day love rarely happened without a lot of travelling. His wife used to be in the Fire country before he found her.

"Are you alright?" Toshio asked, slightly panicked at hurting a kid. He didn't want the boy to start crying. The boy glared at him with his pearly white eyes before he started to cry. Toshio looked around the hospital for someone to help him take care of the kid since he didn't know how to get the child to stop crying. This brought up his anxieties about his newborn as he started to look stressed.

Toshio did the only thing he knew to do; he picked up the kid in his arms and hugged him softly.

"There there, little one, I'm sorry if I hurt you. I didn't see you there." Toshio smiled at the little boy.

The boy silently stared at Toshio before he started to giggle. Immediate relieve washed over Toshio like a waterfall. He ruffled the boy's blue tuff of hair before setting him back down on the ground.

"Where are your parents, little boy?" Toshio asked the younger boy, vaguely wondering at which age children start speaking.

The boy stared at Toshio with doe eyes. Toshio decided to rephrase his question.

"Mommy and Daddy?" He awkwardly said, having no idea about asking questions to toddlers.

The boy's eyes brightened with recognition before saying "Mommy and Daddy!".

Toshio smiled again and asked "Where?".

The boy looked past him and pointed to a hall not far away from him. Toshio decided that he'd let his wife rest and show the boy to his parents.

As they neared the room the boy was pointing to, a nurse ran past them and tripped on her own feet. Toshio stopped to help the nurse up, but before he could do so, the nurse looked over at the boy next to Toshio.

"KISAME!" The nurse yelled at the boy. She stood up and took the boy from Toshio.

"Sorry sir, it seems that little Kisame here is a wanderer." The nurse smiled sheepishly at Toshio.

"That's alright. Where are his parents?" Toshio smiled in a friendly manner before his look turned into one of questioning when the nurse suddenly looked very sad.

"Both of his parents came into the hospital earlier this morning. They suffered from severe injuries because of a mission. His mother passed away an hour ago and his father passed away two hours ago." The nurse explained to Toshio in a manner that would shatter even the coldest heart.

Toshio looked at the boy with sadness before mustering up some courage to smile.

"Where was he staying when all of this happened? Did he have any family with him?" Toshio asked, concerned for the little boy.

"He has no known family, sir. Their neighbours were taking care of him while they were on the mission; they brought him in when they came to the hospital. He is going to have to go to the orphanage. I wish I could have taken him in for a few days, but I wouldn't have the time to care for him with my job." The nurse was brought close to tears. She seemed to be new at the hospital.

Toshio looked at her and thought for a moment. "My wife and I have to stay at our home for a while since my wife gave birth today and we need to care for our daughter. I'm sure that the people in our compound would help us to take care of the boy for a few days, if that is alright?" Toshio finally answered. He knew that if Hareta heard about the boy, she would not mind him there.

The nurse gave a cry of excitement and her eyes lit up. The woman must have a weakness for little kids, since she was so worried about this one. "That would be no problem at all sir! I will just go and ask the social worker for the paperwork." The nurse held the boy and ran off before returning with an embarrassed red tint on her face. "I'm sorry, what is your name and in which room is your wife?" The nurse asked politely.

"I am Toshio Shiryoku, my wife currently resides in room 1014. I will be waiting there for you." Toshio smiled at the nurse before rushing off to Hareta.

When Toshio entered the room, Hareta was already sitting up straight and yawning. She must have just woken up. Toshio quickly walked over to her. He started to panic so he took a deep breath and said what he needed to.

"Now Hareta, I know this is hard to ask right now, but can we foster a little two year old boy for a few weeks? I bumped into him earlier and he lost his parents today and he has no family and he just looked so sad and the nurse that wanted to take him couldn't and I didn't want her to be disappointed so I told her that it was fine and the nurse is on her way with the paperwork and I'm sorry. You know I love you?"

Hareta knows that Toshio jumbled his words when he's nervous so she could tell that this was something that he really wanted.

"So I have two kids now?" A half asleep Hareta asked Toshio.

Toshio grinned sheepishly before rubbing the back of his head. He knew that he was manipulating his postpartum wife into technically adopting the kid since she would get too attached to let him go after a few weeks.

"Well, yeah." Toshio answered.

Hareta gave a cold look to Toshio before saying "It's because I didn't birth a son, isn't it?"

Toshio laughed before hugging Hareta and saying "You know I already love Unmei, I wouldn't trade her. If you see the little boy then you'll understand. Oh, the boy already has a red string as well."

"I know." Hareta smiled. "You said that he's around two, that's just about the age where the red string usually comes in." Hareta stated.

Emiko walked into the room with little Unmei and placed her in Hareta's arms. Hareta cuddled her baby in her arms before the door opened to reveal the nurse and the boy.

Hareta's heart stopped for a moment. She looked at the boy in shock. It was very unusual for a boy to look like a shark and to be blue, but that isn't what was bothering her.

It was the red string connecting him to her daughter.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N- So here's the official first chapter since the last one was the pilot. I have a question though. I'm not sure if, in later chapters when they become ninjas, I should focus more on the things they do when they aren't training or the things they do when they are. Any ideas? Thanks for reading!**

Hareta and Toshio returned to their complex with Unmei and Kisame in their arms. Emiko left ahead of time in order to prepare the extra room for Kisame. Unmei slept peacefully in Hareta's arms while Kisame stared at everything around him in Toshio's arms. Hareta had become unusually silent.

"Your head might pop with all the thinking you're doing." Toshio joked dryly, trying to figure out what was going on in his wife's mind.

Hareta smiled at Toshio, but he could see some doubt in her features.

"Should we really adopt our son-in-law? It would be strange if our daughter married our son, never mind that being almost unheard of if it weren't for the twins in the fire country." Hareta said exasperatedly.

"I wonder what happened to them." Toshio said in thought.

"Seriously, To-To, what are we going to do?" Hareta questioned.

"We'll have to see if another family in the compound would be willing, otherwise we could just raise him as part of the family without letting anyone adopt him. Like we would have done with orphans in our family." Toshio replied.

"You're a genius!" Hareta's eyes gleamed. Many a ninja from the Shiryoku clan has left a child from the clan orphaned because of their demanding careers. The clan would then integrate the child into the family by assigning caretakers, but never replacing the parents completely.

Kisame looked at the baby in Hareta's arms, then back at Hareta before smiling at her, tiny shark teeth poking out. Hareta smiled back at Kisame and poked his pink-purple cheek with her free arm. He giggled at her.

Soon they arrived at their home and put Unmei in her crib. The room across from her belonged to her parents whilst the room on her right side temporarily belonged to Kisame. Toshio showed Kisame the plain room and Hareta laid Unmei down to rest. Emiko headed to her own home where she would be informing her husband, Toshio and Hareta's advisor, about both children they brought home with them.

After Kisame and Toshio became accustomed to Kisame's room, the little blue toddler's eyes began drooping. Toshio noticed before offering to tuck him in so that he can nap before going outside to play for a little while. Kisame smiled and nodded at Toshio, still a little shy to speak to the mostly unfamiliar person.

Hareta and Toshio rested until they heard a restless cry from Unmei. Hareta was quick to jump up from her seat and go to her daughter, while Toshio went to make sure Kisame wasn't awake.

When Toshio entered Kisame's room, he noticed that the little boy wasn't present. He went to Unmei's room where he saw Kisame holding Unmei in his arms. Hareta sat on the rocking chair near the crib and smiled at the two of them. She noticed Toshio and smiled at him too.

"He reached her before I did. She stopped crying." Hareta explained shortly.

Toshio smiled at the two kids.

Ever since Kisame picked up Unmei to calm her down, he had become her little safety blanket. She would only ever stop crying if she had gotten food, a new diaper or Kisame. Her parents welcomed the fact that Kisame could calm her down so easily since he was always near her. She was a very difficult baby, but no one minded it. Unless it was 3 in the morning, then Hareta minded. She felt bad for letting Kisame wake up whenever she cried so late so she decided to let Kisame and Unmei share a room, just until Unmei had gotten over her crying phase.

One morning, a few weeks before Kisame's third birthday, he had been playing with a little shark plushie on the floor next to Unmei in the living room. Hareta was busy cooking and Toshio was reading a summoning scroll near Unmei. He was planning on giving Kisame the scroll when the time was right. Unmei looked at Kisame and giggled before waving her hands frantically. Kisame knew that this meant she wanted him to pick her up. Before Kisame could stretch over and lift her onto his lap, a sound made his heart stop.

"Sa-me!" Unmei yelled out at Kisame.

Hareta entered the room, equally shocked.

She thought Unmei's first word would be Mama, Dada or even poop, like her own first word.

She smiled as her daughter giggled at Kisame. Toshio patted Kisame on his head.

"Mommy! Kisame won't let me play with his plushie!" A three year old toddler glared at the five year old next to her.

The five year old still lived in the home with Hareta and Toshio, but he wasn't adopted by them. The elders decided to integrate Kisame into the clan as an orphan as he would be placed into the empty house next to Hareta and Toshio when he becomes a genin. They decided that he would only become a true member when Unmei and Kisame get married. Since their threads link to each other, the elders couldn't refuse Kisame from the compound. Letting him get adopted by another clan also wouldn't benefit them since it meant allowing another clan into their secluded space. The Shiryoku clan liked their privacy and if Unmei wasn't an heir it would be alright for Kisame to be in another clan.

Hareta laughed at Unmei before saying: "If he wants you to play with it too then he will Unmei."

The week after Hareta and Toshio had gotten Kisame, they bought him a little shark plushie. Kisame had been attached to the plushie ever since. On some occasions he'd allow Unmei to play with his plushie too, but today was not one of those occasions.

Kisame stuck out his tongue at Unmei before laughing and running to Toshio. Unmei went to sulk in her room, where a couple of plushies of her own resided, even though she never touched them.

Hareta entered Unmei's room shortly after herself. She sat next to her daughter on her bright blue bed. Kisame and Unmei stopped sharing a room about half a year after Kisame's third birthday. They still liked to go into each other's rooms and play and they often didn't fall asleep in the rooms they should. Kisame and Unmei were mostly inseparable, unless Toshio was involved. Toshio had become an idol for Kisame and he liked to go to Toshio and ask him about all of the ninja things he was doing. Unmei was more interested in playing ninja than hearing about it. She never did like listening to explanations. She'd just jump right into something and ask questions later. Her impulsive actions didn't cause anything negative yet, but that didn't stop Hareta from worrying.

"Mommy?" Unmei started.

"Yes dear?" Hareta answered.

"Why does Same like daddy so much?" Unmei looked curiously at Hareta.

Hareta contemplated the answer. She stared at Unmei. "Maybe it's because daddy's a ninja, Unmei."

"Why does daddy keep fighting?" Unmei wondered.

"For us."Hareta smiled. She knew Unmei hated violence and that a three year old wouldn't understand it.

"One day, Kisame will fight for you too." Hareta finished.

"Then I'll fight too, mommy!" Unmei gleamed. If Kisame would fight for her, then she'll fight just as hard. Even if she hated violence.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N- Enjoy and tell me what you think!**

"Why are you showing me this mommy?" Unmei asked curiously, looking up at the much taller Hareta.

Hareta took a five year old Unmei to the clan's monument. It was a large statue of two people connected by a thread. The thread was the only thing of the statue that was painted in all of its bright red glory. Hareta decided that she would teach Unmei about her clan's legacy before she entered the academy.

"This statue is dedicated to the clan's legacy, honey. The people depicted here are the founders of our clan. They started a clan dedicated to the destiny of loved ones. They were the ones that started our kekkei genkai." Hareta proudly told Unmei.

"What's a legacy?" Unmei asked.

"It's what you leave behind after you die. It's what people will remember you by." Hareta told her daughter.

"When you come of age, you'll be able to see that red thread on everyone around you." Hareta waited for Unmei's reaction.

"Can I touch the threads when I see them, mommy?" Unmei wondered loudly, slightly stroking her finger where she saw the threads were attached on the statues.

"I've heard in the past that someone was able to do that, but it's highly unlikely darling. That person went through training so secret that even the elders don't know it. It's older than they are. The elders that came before them sealed the method in a scroll long ago because of the negative impact it has on the user." Hareta answered.

Unmei stared at her mother for a while. She wondered how Kisame's classes were going. He should be getting home pretty soon since her father already walked to the academy to fetch him.

"What impact does it have, mommy?" Unmei was getting bored with the story, all she wanted to do was play on the monument.

"All I know is that every time a string is touched, it becomes weaker and so does the person that touched it. So weak that both could disappear. Destiny was never made to be tampered with, especially not by a mortal." Hareta answered. She could see that her daughter only had mischief on her mind, so she walked back to their home with Unmei. They have to prepare lunch so that they could all eat when Kisame and Toshio gets back.

As they were walking, Unmei continued staring at her finger.

"I can feel it sometimes, mommy." Unmei whispered.

"I'm sure you can." Hareta laughed it off.

That night Unmei lay down in her bed. Next week she would start going to the academy. She didn't know anyone from the academy besides Kisame and he wouldn't have any classes with her. She didn't like anyone else around her age. All of them were mean to Kisame so she didn't want to be friends with them.

"Unmei." A voice whispered to her.

Unmei looked around, scared. The voice calling her name didn't sound like anyone she knows. She decided to hide beneath her blanket. Unmei had once convinced herself that ninjas were stupid. If they took blankets with them then no one would hurt them.

"Unmei, listen to me." The voice was closer. Unmei could hear that it was female. The voice didn't sound threatening but she still didn't come out from under her blanket.

"Unmei, stop being stubborn, I won't hurt you." The voice sounded right next to her. Unmei's head popped up from under the blanket. What she saw practically made her heart stop.

A very familiar looking woman was staring at Unmei. She had friendly features and a bright smile. She gave off a motherly vibe. She was also transparent. Unmei just kept staring at her.

"Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to stare?" The woman asked jokingly.

"She did! It just didn't work." Unmei replied stubbornly. The woman laughed at that.

"I came here to tell you something important, not to chit chat." The ghost of a woman answered.

"What did you want to tell me, Ghost-san?" Unmei has suddenly remembered her manners. Sort of.

The woman looked at Unmei irritably. She was contemplating whether or not telling Unmei what she wanted to was a wise decision. She decided finally that she didn't come back from the dead just to give up on what she planned on doing.

"You can touch the strings. They just don't want you to know that." The woman finally said.

"Who doesn't want me to know? Why can't I know that?" Unmei asked in a whining tone. She just wanted to go back to bed so that she could play with Kisame the next day since it was Saturday and he wouldn't have to go to the academy then.

"The elders don't want you to know. They're the only living beings that know what you're capable of. You're not supposed to know because you're the only one that can do it." The woman's time was up. She had to leave, even if it meant being ambiguous about her reply.

"I'll tell you everything tomorrow night if you promise not to waste my time by getting scared again." The woman disappeared before Unmei could ask another question.

Unmei decided that she'd share Kisame's bed with him tonight.

Kisame woke up in the middle of the night to Unmei crawling into his bed. She had nightmares sometimes and then she would come to him, so he was used to it. It never bothered him because he had trouble sleeping and Unmei usually helped with that. Her actions were expected.

What wasn't expected was that she'd start cuddling him. She usually kept to herself. She never once held him when they slept together.

"Same?" Unmei called out to the shocked little blue boy.

"Yeah?" His voice sounded sleepy, but his mind was reeling.

"Never keep secrets from me, please." Unmei asked before falling asleep, holding onto Kisame tightly.

Kisame fought away the confusion in his mind. Unmei asked him to do something and he'd do it.

"Never." Kisame replied before falling asleep as well.

The next day Hareta woke up early. When Hareta went to greet Unmei she found that Unmei wasn't in her room. She went to Kisame's room only to find a sleeping Kisame. Hareta knew Unmei was in Kisame's room because her pillow was on his bed. She checked the whole house without being able to find Unmei. Worried, Hareta decided to expand her senses as she started seeing the red threads all around her. She focused particularly on the thread that linked Unmei and Kisame.

Following the link, Hareta ended up at the clan's monument.

"Why do people lie to others, mommy?" Unmei asked Hareta when she spotted her. Hareta felt relieved that Unmei hadn't left the compound without asking for permission.

"People sometimes lie to others to protect the person they're telling lies to and sometimes people tell lies to others in order to protect themselves."Hareta answered to the best of her ability. Unmei always asked hard questions thanks to her being so inquisitive. Unmei reminds Hareta of herself when she was little so she convinced herself that Unmei would one day get over her curiosity.

"Why did you come to the statue?" Hareta asked Unmei. Unmei usually didn't explore the compound. She preferred to stay at home and keep to herself or play with Kisame.

"Because it reminds me of someone." Unmei kept staring at the statue, lightly tracing the thread. Hareta was confused. The only person not living in their house that Unmei knows would be Emiko. Emiko mostly played the role of Unmei's grandmother of sorts after helping with her birth.

"Who?" Hareta asked perplexed.

"An impatient ghost lady that spoke to me last night." Unmei replied.

After Unmei finished freaking Hareta out, Hareta just laughed off the words of her daughter thinking that she dreamt it up after seeing the statue. She took Unmei with her to go and prepare breakfast for everyone so that they could start their days. Toshio would be leaving for a mission the next morning and Hareta wanted one last family meal before he leaves for a month. Toshio had the job of observing a group of thieves and reporting on them. The thieves have been stealing important scrolls all over wave.

Kisame woke up just after Toshio and joined the rest of his family at the dining table. Usually he'd be up before Unmei but he figured that she was too scared to sleep in.

"Same! You slept in late this morning?" Unmei greeted him

Kisame looked at Unmei and smiled before nodding. If anyone slept after Unmei then they slept late. If anyone woke up before Unmei then they woke up early. Unmei logic.

Unmei was avoiding her mother. She didn't like being waved off when she told someone something since she doesn't see herself as a liar, especially if she knows she was telling the truth.

Hareta figured that Unmei would get over it.

"What are we doing today?" Unmei asked Toshio. Since he would be leaving for a mission the next day the family figured that it would be wise to spend some time together.

"Let's play ninja!" Kisame shouted out excitedly. Unmei looked at him with a deadpanned expression.

"Let's go have a picnic!" Unmei yelled back mockingly. She hated playing ninja with Kisame, he always won.

"How about we do both?" Hareta suggested. Toshio quickly agreed, not wanting to cause a fight between the two children.

The two children grimly agreed.

Hareta and Toshio sat outside in the clan's park while Kisame and Unmei ran around playing ninja. Usually Unmei would play as the bad ninja because she didn't like people chasing her, she liked terrifying people. She hated being the weak one that runs. Kisame was always faster than Unmei so he opted to be the good ninja and give her a challenge because it would be way too easy for him to catch her if he was the villain. Hareta was busying herself with dishing up lunch for the children when they heard a familiar cry coming from Unmei. She had tripped over a rock and hurt her knee. Kisame was desperately trying to cheer her up.

Hareta usually left Kisame to take care of Unmei, but since Unmei was chasing Kisame, Hareta had the feeling she would blame him partly for her pain. Hareta quickly rushed over to Unmei and Kisame.

"Mommy!" Unmei wailed. Like any child, her tears became more when she saw her wound. Hareta kneeled over and put a band aid on her knee that she always had equipped near Unmei. Hareta quickly kissed Unmei's wound after the band-aid was applied.

"Do you guys want some ice-cream?" Hareta smiled at the two kids.

Soon the wound was long forgotten as Unmei and Kisame laughed together while eating ice-cream.

Unmei was so tired from the day's events, she collapsed on her bed after brushing her teeth like the semi-obedient child she is. She didn't even turn of her light, which turned into Hareta's job when she later came to tuck Unmei in. Hareta lightly kissed Unmei on her forehead before leaving the room to do the same to Kisame.

Unmei just started dreaming of a day where she and Kisame could play all day without end. She just wanted them to always be together and be happy.

"Unmei, wake up."

That night, in more ways than one, Unmei did.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N- Well, I wasn't planning on having the story take a turn here and I almost have no absolute plan for future chapters even though most of it is worked out. From here on you guys would be able to notice that this is in fact completely AU since the story line and ages of some characters and events won't be followed AT ALL. I apologize if this bothers you guys, but I was never planning on following the universe in which Naruto takes place.**

"Unmei, wake up!" It was Kisame, shaking Unmei fiercely. He had tears in his eyes and his cheeks were puffy and red. Everything around them seemed to be covered in smoke.

Unmei opened her eyes in a panicked motion as she was rudely interrupted from her happy childhood dreams. She saw something she rarely ever saw and that was Kisame crying which alerted her immediately.

"What's going on?" Unmei asked. Kisame dragged her along with him.

"We need to run, Unmei." Kisame said as he moved faster.

"Why do we need to run?" Unmei asked, now grasping that she has to hurry up so she started jogging along with being dragged by Kisame.

"Someone is after the clan." Kisame now broke out into a full run.

Unmei began running soon after. She was forced to if she didn't want to fall down. Her breath became ragged as she started stressing over what was happening.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Unmei asked in a rush.

"They went to get Emiko and her husband, Joto. They're too slow to escape on their own." Kisame explained. Luckily they were almost out of the compound.

Unmei and Kisame started running faster when they heard a small explosion close by. Many homes were on fire and Unmei could hear screams nearly everywhere. She could almost hear the sizzle of memories burning away, if she focused.

Soon they were out of the main gate and into the streets of the busy town.

"Come on, we have to get to the forest, that's where they're meeting us." Kisame now yelled his commands at Unmei. Stress was taking its toll on him and Unmei didn't like it at all. The worst thing she had experienced before today was when she and Kisame had chicken pox together and had to stay in bed for a week and even that wasn't all too bad.

They ran as fast as they could from the chaos they used to call their home. Unmei, the usually slow one, was keeping up with Kisame thanks to all of the adrenaline in her tiny body. Both of them willed themselves to go faster. They dodged some stray citizens in the streets and finally reached the forest safely. Even if they had stopped and asked for help, no kind person would be wandering the streets at 3 in the morning.

"We made it." Kisame said through wild gasps for air.

"Yeah, but will Mommy and Daddy?" Unmei asked worriedly. She was always the one to come up with the worst case scenario, even though she was the cheerful one. She was sitting down on the ground and trying to gain some composure. Sure she may have kept up with Kisame, but he handled the speed much better.

Kisame followed Unmei and sat down next to her. They both became quiet. They waited and listened into the darkness for any signs of Hareta and Toshio.

Soon the air became lighter and Kisame and Unmei hoped no one would find them that wasn't supposed to find them, but as luck would have it, someone did.

"Well now, I didn't expect to see such fine specimens on my night out on the town. I don't suppose you two ran away from home, did you?" A slender and handsome man asked the children. This person seemed to be all alone, but to the children that didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous.

"We're waiting to say goodbye to our parents, they're going on a mission and we want to surprise them!" Kisame said confidently. He was always the better liar.

"Ah, I see. Who are your parents?" The man asked Kisame.

"I don't think you'd know them, they're not very famous." Unmei replied quickly.

"What a shame, I wonder what Hareta and Toshio would have said if they heard that. Too bad they're burnt and sliced to death by now." The man smiled maliciously. His handsome face contorted into something beastly and inhuman.

"Who are you? Where are my parents!?" Unmei was panicking, not only did this man feel dangerous, but if he knew their parents then he certainly knew them as well.

"My my dear, didn't your parents teach you any manners? They're dead. I killed them. In fact, I killed your whole clan." The man replied smugly.

"Why would you do that?" Unmei started crying hysterically. Kisame looked as if he was ready to tear this person in front of him to shreds.

"Because I was looking for you, dear. They should have known better than to hide you." The man said matter of factly.

"Why?!" Unmei was close to a panic attack.

"Because I want you for my arsenal. You and your little pet shark." His face became kind again. He made it sound as if it was the chance of a lifetime for them. Unmei highly doubted that.

"I'll make sure both of you know my name very well by the time we're done. My name is Orochimaru, one of the three Sannin. Pleased to finally be seen by you." His smile became more malicious than before as his neck started elongating. He pulled at his skin in a way that made Unmei nauseous.

"Don't you dare touch them." Hareta said, holding a kunai to the sannin's throat.

"You think we'd let you take them so easily? Not a chance." Toshio said from somewhere in the trees.

"I thought I killed you two." Orochimaru replied though gritted teeth.

"Hint, never let goons do the job of a boss." Hareta grinned.

Toshio jumped from a tree and walked over to Orochimaru. He smiled reassuringly at Kisame and Unmei before stopping in front of the snake.

"At least they took out most of your clan." Orochimaru smirked.

Toshio and Hareta both looked at each other and smiled.

"Well about that..." Hareta began as she dug the kunai deeper into Orochimaru.

Suddenly Orochimaru was shot by senbon needles from all directions of the forest. At first Unmei yelled out in fright, thinking someone had hit her parents. Then she laughed because she saw Emiko from the tree across from her. Then she yelled again when she realised Orochimaru had become a log.

"As we suspected, it was merely a decoy. At least now he'll know not to touch they heiress." Emiko smiled as she jumped from a tree. Unmei couldn't believe that a woman of her age would still be capable of such physical abilities.

"Good job everyone, now we just have to gather our things and head for the main compound." Joto, Emiko's husband replied from next to Emiko.

"Main compound? Why?" Hareta questioned.

"Because the position of an heiress has been compromised by a very dangerous enemy, the best course of action would be to move to a location unknown to the enemy." Joto replied.

"But we proved that we can stand our ground to the enemy. Shouldn't that be enough to keep them at bay? I'm not going against the elder's decision, but if we run that would only force our enemy to find us." Toshio argued. He wanted Unmei and Kisame to be safe, and if that means putting them in a spot where the enemy knows just to keep them from chasing after them, so be it.

"You have a good point, Toshio-kun. We will have to think this through more thoroughly. I suggest a meeting with the other branches." Joto replied.

"Agreed." Hareta and Toshio replied.

Hareta walked over to Unmei and hugged her tightly before smiling at both Unmei and Kisame.

"Both of you are safe now." Hareta smiled.

Unmei began crying and held on to Kisame and her mom. Kisame tried holding back his tears, but failed miserably. A little kid can only handle so much stress.

Hareta tucked both kids safely into Emiko's bed. The main house, where Hareta and Toshio lived, had completely burned down, but the rest of the compound survived with less damage. Emiko's house had been the one to receive the least damage.

"So, what's the plan?" Toshio asked, facing Emiko, Joto and the two remaining elders, Keiko and Arashi.

"We decided to separate this branch so to throw off the enemy." Arashi replied. Joto and Keiko, as Shiryoku-born, have the most say as elders. Their significant others to play a big role in decision making though.

"I suppose that works, how would we separate the branch?" Hareta asked.

"Simple. Half stays here, the half with the best fighters as well as one pair of elders and the leaders, so you two, as well as the heiress. The other half travels to a different island as to throw off the enemy. Most likely Orochimaru would be going after the travelling part of the branch. The travelling branch would only need a few of the best fighters." Joto replied. The elders seemed to have a plan before Hareta and Toshio arrived. The elders are always to proud to accept help from those younger than them.

"Alright, that would work. When will we do this?" Toshio asked.

"Tomorrow morning. Also, we'll need decoys." Keiko answered.

"Of?" Hareta asked.

"The children and the two of you. We'll also need you four to hide your appearance if the enemy decides to look here." Joto answered.

"Do you agree?" Emiko asked the two leaders.

"Not completely. Maybe we should send Unmei and Kisame with the other branch and the two of us will stay here with decoys. If they don't see us with the kids then they'll think the real children are simply decoys." Hareta answered.

"But that would mean separating the children from their parents?" Keiko asked.

"If it is for the safety of my child, so be it. The land of waves are becoming increasingly difficult with our appearance here. It would be best for them not to be here when Kiri decides to do something about us." Toshio answered, because of the link between Toshio and Hareta, their feelings are always known to the other. Kirigakure never liked clans with bloodline limits.

The elders went to talk alone with each other before coming up with a decision. After a few minutes they neared Toshio and Hareta.

"We have come to agree with the plan you've made." Joto replied.

Hareta smiled at the elders, even though she couldn't have been feeling more remorseful. She always wanted to see her child grow up happily. Now she'd hardly ever see her baby girl. Kirigakure won't tolerate the clan much longer after the children leave. Either they'll brainwash them to become mindless drones for the Mizukage, or they'll attack. Hareta and Toshio would fight no matter what and Hareta didn't want Unmei to see all of that or even worse, be a part of it.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N- Somewhere in a room lit by screens, the few people following this story sit in a circle. They slowly clap at the chapter released. Slowly indeed.**

"You know, Emiko-san, if you comb my hair any more it might fall out." Unmei joked with her elder. Her long and elegant hair was met with a dark brush every now and then. She preferred to keep her hair in a simple ponytail, but the occasion would not allow it.

"Hush now, lady Unmei, it is an important day. Your parents are due to arrive soon." Emiko replied to Unmei's joke.

"I really wish they wouldn't, it would just put them in more danger." Unmei replied bitterly. She held no resentment towards her parents for separating her from them. She fully understood the danger that is Orochimaru, but Orochimaru hasn't been the only one plaguing her clan. In the past year her parents have become a hunted pair by Kirigakure. Apparently the supposed to be massacre Orochimaru attempted had put the whole village in danger and according to the Mizukage, Hareta and Toshio had to be executed for that.

"I know dear. You have to try and enjoy your tenth birthday though. We need a little light every now and then." Emiko smiled softly at Unmei. In the past 5 years since separating from her parents, Unmei started growing into a young and respectable lady.

"Same~! Let's go play Shogi later!" Unmei yelled out the window to a passing Kisame. Emiko's eye twitched in annoyance at the heiress. Respectable young lady, yeah right.

Kisame grinned at Unmei. The young boy was currently on his way to training with his swords master. His master was hired about two years ago by the clan to train Kisame. He requested some last minute training today so that he can show off to Toshio when he arrives.

"Lady Emiko, the leaders have arrived." A teenage boy said from the open door. Unmei smiled softly. Today would be the first day she sees her parents since she moved away from them. Emiko rushed Unmei into her Kimono before leaving to greet Hareta and Toshio.

Unmei was about to leave the room as well when the door slammed shut. She looked around to check if it could be the wind only to find that the whole room had become dark. The only light she could find came from the corner of the room, but it didn't seem natural to Unmei so she did the only natural thing she could think of. She walked closer to the strange light.

"My my, you sure have grown since I last saw you." A pale figure, the source of the strange light, said.

"I almost thought you had forgotten about me, Ghost-lady-san." Unmei smiled at the woman she was supposed to meet the night Orochimaru attacked.

"I've not forgotten anything, the people from my realm kept me busy for a while." The lady smiled.

"So, not to waste any time, since my parents are here. What did you want to tell me?" Unmei asked. Often times she would find herself wondering about the lady and what she meant to tell her. More times than not it had driven her curiosity to the brink of almost asking someone to help her locate this very lady.

"Right, let's get to it then. The elders that are looking after you. Specifically Joto and Keiko, have some knowledge that the previous elders passed on to them about your clan. You have the ability to touch the string of fate and manipulate it to your will. This is because you're a direct descendant of me, the founder of the clan. You are not only the heiress of the clan, but the most powerful member in it if you learn how to use that. The elders never told your parents or anyone else in fear of someone gaining the knowledge that could possible turn it against you since this power has one huge disadvantage." Unmei looked at the lady with huge, curious eyes.

"What's the disadvantage?" Unmei asked.

"Well, every time you touch a string not belonging to you, it starts to become a part of you. No one can have more than one string at a time attached to them so you'll have to choose to lose yourself and who you are for a while. This, if not used correctly, can lead to a lot of confusion and unwanted romantic feelings not to mention loss of your own path." The lady answered.

"Not to worry about that now, I will return to tell you more when the time is right. Trust no one with this information. Goodbye, Unmei." The lady smiled at her descendant before vanishing.

Unmei, a little lost and confused, took a while to regain her composure before running out of the room and to her parents.

"Look at how big you've become!" Hareta gushed as she suffocated Unmei with her hugs and kisses. Her little girl than once fit snugly into her arms now stood around two heads shorter than her.

"_The feeling of nostalgia often returns to people when dire situations arise."_ Unmei remembered what her mother told her once now that she looked at her. Her mother had a very bright smile on, but she could see the toll these past years have taken on her through the heavy bags under her eyes. This left Unmei feeling as if her bright smile wasn't as heartfelt as she had hoped.

"I'm not that big Mama, Same's still taller than me!" Unmei complained in a joking manner to lighten the mood. Hareta's eyes seemed a little bit brighter after that.

"Well dear, Kisame is taller than everyone his age, isn't he?" Hareta smiled at Unmei, thinking about how much she always compared herself to Kisame. Hareta always did it with Toshio when she was younger, until she realised it was better not to be the same person.

"I know Mama." Unmei grumbled. Emiko stared at her coldly before sniffing, feeling insulted that all of her training on etiquette went down the drain. Unmei looked over at Emiko and giggled.

Toshio arrived with Kisame not trailing far behind. Unmei quickly ran over to greet her father with a big hug and kiss on his cheek. He gushed at seeing his daughter growing up nicely while Kisame went to greet Hareta.

"It's nice to see the both of you again." Unmei smiled. She really missed seeing her parents often, but she knew better than to become a burden for them. Sometimes she worried so much about them that she had trouble sleeping.

Maybe if it wasn't such a happy moment everyone would have been more aware.

All Unmei could do was stare in horror as Kisame's master drew Samehada through her father's chest. It was almost as if it had happened in slow motion. She could see his muscles rip, his eyes go wider and more lifeless with each second, her mother screaming in horror and Kisame paralyzed with shock. It all happened so fast and oh so very slowly at the same time. The elders didn't move. No one moved.

Except Unmei.

She didn't know how she managed to react, but sooner than Kisame's master could move, Unmei had him bound so tightly that his ribs were crushed. At first she didn't know how she crushed him, but the red strings wound tightly around her fingers surely gave a hint. It almost amazed her. The strings were thick and chain-like. They looked unbreakable. They _felt_ unbreakable to Unmei.

"W-what just happened..." Hareta managed to mutter through her shocked state. She gripped her husband tightly as tears escaped her wide eyes. Her husband was _gone_.

_Toshio is dead._ Hareta thought to herself as her throat tightened. She felt heavy. Emiko was rushing towards her, why was she rushing? Toshio was already gone.

"HARETA!" Emiko yelled at Hareta. Unmei had released the now dead assassin and ran up to her mother. She looked like she couldn't breathe. Unmei knew the feeling.

"She's going to die, Unmei, your mother can't be alive when your father isn't." Emiko told Unmei in a grim voice. This was not how today was supposed to happen. Unmei should never have seen this. The head of the clan was severely linked to their partners so to not betray the clan. A seal was placed on the heads in order to insure that the one _cannot _live without the other. Hareta and Toshio were both dead and no one could do anything about it.

Unmei turned to Kisame in tears. She needed him more than anyone right now. He was the only one that could tell her that everything would be alright and she would believe him, except this time he looked just as bad as she did. He had tears streaming down his face and his eyes were shut tight. He couldn't believe someone he knew and trained with everyday could have just _lied _to him like that. He couldn't believe how absolutely _betrayed_ he felt at the person that taught him everything he needed to become strong these past few years. His _idol _and _father_ was _dead._ All because of _lies._

Unmei hugged Kisame tightly, refusing to let go of the only person she trusted. For the past few years she had watched Kisame grow up and become strong thanks to the person that now lay crushed because of her. Kisame hugged Unmei back just as tightly as they both fell to the ground. They felt so _helpless._

The following week a funeral was held for the late clan heads. Unmei and Kisame had prepared for the day with a lot of dread. The traitor was buried outside of their village and Samehada was handed over to Kisame, even though he didn't want it at first.

Unmei and Kisame had become closer to each other and farther apart at the same time. They were seen together at all times protecting each other but they refused to look at each other. They couldn't handle losing their parents like they did and Unmei feared her newly-found power so she didn't want to accidentally hurt Kisame.

It was late when the funerals finally ended and all Kisame and Unmei wanted was to get into a bed they now shared and sleep all of this over.

Unmei and Kisame now slept back to back instead of towards each other like they always did. Unmei didn't know why they distanced themselves from each other. It was almost as if Kisame didn't even trust her anymore. She cried herself to sleep again that night.

When Unmei woke up the room was eerily empty. It wasn't day yet, judging by how dark it still was. Unmei couldn't understand why the room was empty. She noticed that Samehada wasn't in the usual corner of the room and Kisame wasn't snoring in bed like he should be. Unmei noticed with dismay that all of Kisame's belonging wasn't in the cupboard that was still left open. She quickly lit a candle to find absolutely everything belonging to Kisame gone.

On the desk was a letter for Unmei and she forced herself to open it and read every single word even though she didn't want to.

First her parents died, and now Kisame ran away in search for someone that wouldn't lie to him. Kisame didn't want to be with someone that didn't tell them of their powers like she did. Kisame wanted loyalty and to him that wasn't Unmei.

For the second time in one week, Unmei's heart broke. She guessed he was right, after all she didn't even tell him that she could see the string now. She didn't even tell him that they were meant to be together forever. She didn't even tell him that she would always be there for him.

She didn't even tell him that she loves him.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N- Well I haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry about that. **

"Unmei, you really have to concentrate. Have I taught you nothing?" A scolding ghost looked at the young Unmei. She was usually cold and calculating when it came to her targets, but on this particular day it seemed hard to focus on the man below her resting place in the trees.

Unmei simply tried harder to sense her target, who was a rogue ninja like she usually hunted. This ninja wasn't particularly powerful and if Unmei wanted to, she could easily manipulate his red string to kill him, but for now she was just focussing on sensing only his string. Sensing someone's fate was harder than sensing chakra, mostly because it can only be tracked by some people and it connects two people to each other. Unmei was one of that some people. As Ghost had explained to Unmei, there were other people like her in other parts of the clan, but they were much older than her and some even chose to ignore their ability.

After the death of her parents and after Kisame abandoned Unmei, she left her little clan to train with the ghost, which, to her clan, seemed as if she was only going off on her own to train.

"I can sense him, his other half died about a year ago. No one else is alive that he has feelings for. His heartache caused him to go rogue and kill people that are happier. Such a person would be more content dead." Unmei replied neutrally. After about 4 years of sensing people like this, their sad stories had become something Unmei was used to. Rogues usually didn't go rogue because of happiness, Unmei mused.

"You're right. What course of action do we take now?" The woman Unmei dubbed Ghost, since the lady had incessantly refused to be called the name of a person she wasn't anymore, asked expertly. Both of them were used to this routine of theirs since they've gone through training like this so much that it's become second nature to both of them. Unmei went to random villages as a hunter-nin and either captured, killed or let go of the people the villages were after. She was cheaper to use than any other hunter-nin so most villages don't care to know who she is or what village she comes from, as long as she gets the job done.

"I'm going to kill him and take his body to the village." And so Unmei did. She swiftly landed on the ground after jumping from the tree before taking her own string and suffocating the rogue ninja. The strings were supposed to make her own fate weaker and render her useless, except she no longer had a fate since Kisame cut off all ties with her. This made her string easy to manipulate, even though she lost sight of who she used to be every time and grew emotionally weaker. The strings tire out the user emotionally, which in some cases could turn to be worse than physically. Unmei no longer felt any positive emotions thanks to her training. This deemed to be an advantage on the battle field and only there. If Kisame had been with her she could feed off his emotions without hurting him so she could be herself and strong. They would have made the ultimate team if he would only have waited to listen to Unmei's reasoning.

Unmei and Ghost were about to take their prey to the village that required him when they were blocked by two cloaked people. Unmei instantly noticed the cloak as the organisation Kisame joined. She had kept tabs on his movements throughout the years by channelling his part of the string. It had been a full eight years since she had last seen Kisame and a full four years since she had last checked up on him. For four years Unmei had been taught by Ghost the basic and advanced techniques of being a ninja before being taught about her own capabilities for the past four years. The training was rough and meant to break Unmei down before building her to become stronger and most nights of the first year Unmei found herself crying before falling asleep. Ghost had gotten her mind off of Kisame and her parents and let her focus only on training and eventually Unmei had begun healing. By the fifth year of her training Unmei had started being happy again only to lose all emotions due to her technique. Unmei was now a full-grown 18 year old emotionless killer.

"We need you to join our organisation." One of the two cloaked men said to Unmei. Ghost looked at Unmei and told her to go with them; maybe she could gain Kisame's trust again. It would help her training to be around him. Unmei silently agreed with Ghost.

"Why?" Unmei wanted to know before going with them.

"Because if you don't we'll kill you bitch." The other cloaked man spoke to Unmei. She glared at him.

"I meant for what use. Am I going to be part of the organisation with you or am I going to get killed by you?" Unmei restated her question.

"To be part of the organisation with us, we need you to fight alongside us." The more peaceful person spoke. Ghost nodded at Unmei, reassuring her on their decision.

"Alright, I'll come with you." Unmei agreed.

"Good, I'm sure Kisame will be happy to see you." The peaceful one replied. Unmei would have looked shocked if she could.

"Did he ask for me to join?" Unmei asked the peaceful cloaked figure. She didn't particularly enjoy talking to the rude one.

"No, our leader has heard of you from Kisame and after that we've seen what you can do to your victims so our leader asked for you to join." Unmei accepted the answer. She knew the organisation must have been watching her. It would be strange not to be watched by someone in the ninja world. No matter how discreet you were, there was always someone watching.

Unmei, Ghost and the two cloaked men arrived silently at the headquarters a few villages over. Well Unmei arrived silently; the other two people chose to argue about money the whole way and Ghost chose to comment on it even though only Unmei could hear and see her. From their argument Unmei gathered that the one who swore a lot was named Hidan and that he was very impulsive, the other member was called Kakuzu and he enjoyed his unhealthy obsession with money. Unmei never cared much for money since her parents never had financial issues. After they died she still had a lot of money to get by on, even though she uses it sparingly.

After entering a hidden cave Hidan and Kakuzu led Unmei to their leader's office. Unmei felt around for Kisame's presence but she couldn't sense him. She assumed he was on a mission. Kakuzu knocked on the leader's door and the three of them entered. The moment Unmei entered she noticed that the room seemed a bit darker than the rest of the cave since it had less lighting than the halls. She also noticed one person sitting at a desk and another person standing by the desk.

"I see you've brought the Shiryoku girl." The person Unmei assumed to be the leader said.

"Yes, she came with us willingly so we couldn't test her abilities for ourselves." Kakuzu replied.

"It will be tested in due time, leave now so we can speak to her alone." The leader ordered. Unmei stood patiently in front of them. If she focussed she could see cold eyes staring at her. When she was younger it would bother her if people stared at her mostly because they were ridiculing her for being near Kisame. She didn't mind it now since she didn't have the ability to feel self conscious in situations such as these.

The two members left silently and as Hidan closed the door after him he smiled at her evilly. She noted that they wouldn't be good members towards each other any time soon.

"Do you know why you're here?" The leader asked Unmei. Unmei thought of her answer for a while before answering.

"I believe I am here to aid the organization in gaining profit. Am I correct?" Unmei asked.

"Yes, we have become low on the needed funds for some bigger missions of ours and we need help. As I understand you were affiliated with Kisame before he joined us so I assume you're an adequate member. I've done some research on your clan and found your abilities appealing. You wouldn't be an official member until you've gained us funds and were properly tested since we only know you to be a successful hunter. Would this suit you?" The leader explained to Unmei. Unmei briefly wondered what would happen if she chose to say no, but she rather not delve into those thoughts.

"If I join the organization, would I be placed into a team? I prefer to work on my own." Unmei always had Ghost by her side to tell her if she missed anything so she didn't feel the need to have a team mate.

"You will be supervised by some of the teams so that they can track your progress, but if you prefer to work alone we won't put you in a team." The leader spoke. He seemed like a respectable man to Unmei and he at least tried to make her comfortable. Unmei didn't have ties with any villages since she was never officially trained so joining the Akatsuki wouldn't bring her any additional danger like the rest of the members.

"I accept, what are the terms to my membership?" Unmei asked, curios as to what sort of rules a group of S ranked criminals had.

"Good. You are not to harm any members unless in training and even then you are not allowed to kill them. You are not allowed to disclose any information about your missions to anyone outside of the organization. You are advised to respect all members as they are advised to respect you. You must join all requested meetings and missions, what else you do in your own time is your business, but training is advised. You can change your room as you want and you will be paid weekly. All income gained while on a mission is to be given to us." The leader seemed as he would have wanted to continue the rules but the person next to him stopped him.

"We've heard of your clan. I assume you can see the red strings?" The woman asked Unmei.

"Yes I can." Unmei replied. She briefly noted that the two people in front of her were connected, but the string was almost translucent, as if the person in front of her was a ghost.

"Who are you connected to? We don't want anyone to hold you back." The lady almost seemed saddened.

"I am connected to Kisame. He doesn't know that though." Unmei replied. Both people at the desk looked shocked for a brief moment.

"Will this hinder you?" The leader asked.

"If Kisame and I were to regain our friendship or even a romance, it would actually strengthen my abilities. As of now I am solely relying on my training to help me whereas he could have been an extra boost in my powers. He would not hinder me." Unmei replied nonchalantly.

"Usually there is a rule not to have any romances within the organization, but since it would be good for us, I would allow it were it to happen." The leader replied.

"If it were to happen, Kisame would have to initiate it so I doubt it would. He believes I betrayed him when my powers awakened." Unmei stated. She normally wouldn't have been so truthful but she believed that truth would help her in the Akatsuki.

"I see, well then we welcome you to the Akatsuki. I'll let Konan show you to your room." The leader answered. The woman next to him moved to the door so she assumed she was Konan.

"Thank you." Unmei answered before leaving to start a new chapter in her life.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N- The Akatsuki members might be OOC and I apologize for that. Most of my information on the Akatsuki comes from wiki, some Naruto episodes and what I've read on fanfiction. Also, please remember that this is AU so some ages and events are different. I felt guilty for not updating frequently so I decided to post this early.**

Konan led Unmei to the part of the cave that would be her room. Unmei wondered where she would get new clothes since she left hers at a hotel a few towns back. She would have to go out and get herself new ones. Unmei usually went with complete black training clothes. She was so fast when it came to taking out her opponents that people hardly had contact with her since she always went from village to village hunting people down.

In the hall Unmei got a closer look at Konan and she saw that Konan had beautiful blue hair. She briefly wondered how she would look with blue hair. She still had chubby cheeks from when she was little so people often mistake her to still be a child. It doesn't help Unmei that she buys baggy clothes so that she can move faster, because everyone would be able to see that she was not a child if she wore more form-fitting attire. Konan's blue hair reminded her of someone else with blue hair and Unmei wondered what Kisame looked like now. She wondered if he used Samehada or if he abandoned the only thing tying him to his trainer.

"When will I be able to go get myself some clothes?" Unmei asked Konan.

"I will escort you to a place tomorrow so that you can get some, in the mean time you can borrow some of my clothes, I believe they'll fit you." Konan answered with a smile. Unmei felt that if she had Konan around then maybe it won't be so bad in the Akatsuki.

Unmei felt a pang in her chest when she thought about Kisame. She missed him so much when he left that it didn't bother her not to feel emotions anymore. She missed her parents too, but she always knew she wouldn't have them forever, she at least thought Kisame would be there for a bit longer than her parents. Unmei shook her head in a failed attempt to erase her thoughts. Kisame was still alive, Unmei reminded herself, he just wasn't hers to be alive with.

"We placed your room close to Kisame's since you already know him, is that alright?" Konan asked Unmei. It surprised Unmei how accommodating the Akatsuki were, but they did consist mostly out of bounty hunting right now, so Unmei supposed even people considered to be villains only wanted to be evil when they had to. Unmei always imagined the Akatsuki as a group of people that killed bunnies in their spare time, but now she was beginning to think that they had some humanity in the organisation. Everyone has a reason for acting how they do, Unmei mused.

"Yes that is fine, I don't want to be a burden when you've been so welcoming" Unmei forced a smile at Konan, not because she wasn't truly grateful, but because she had long since forgotten what a true smile felt like. Konan simply nodded back at Unmei.

Konan left Unmei at the door to her room so that she can get some clothes for Unmei. Unmei looked around for Ghost only to find that she had disappeared to whatever place dead people go every now and then. After giving up on finding her Unmei went into her room to see that it was fairly simplistic. There was one double bed that had four pillows in red and black covering along with red sheets on it, a white cupboard with extra sheets as well as space for clothes and an empty desk with a chair. There was also another door which Unmei found led to a small bathroom that had a toilet, sink and a bath. She felt as if the room was more than adequate comparing to her living spaces these past eight years, which mostly consisted of nature and cheap hotels. Ghosts can train you to kill, but not give you some money for a decent place to sleep.

Konan knocked on the door shortly after Unmei looked her room over to bring a nightgown and plain black clothes for the next day. Unmei was relieved to find that Konan chose comfort over style, much like Unmei did.

"Thank you Konan-san, I appreciate your effort." Unmei said to Konan. She didn't want to be a burden by borrowing Konan's clothes, but she silently promised herself to wash and return the clothes along with a gift to thank her properly. Unmei's mother didn't raise her as a respectable Shiryoku clan representative without teaching her not to be a burden. As all clan members, Unmei chose to be independent and only seek for help when she knew she could offer something else for the person in return.

"It's no problem; I find it pleasant to have another girl here. I don't have anyone to talk to and I was hoping we could at least be friendly towards each other. Even though people respect each other here, they wouldn't willingly sit down to spend time with each other." Konan answered Unmei.

"I wouldn't mind spending time with you, I've been alone for eight years, so excuse me if I lack proper communication skills." _I only had a sarcastic Ghost with a sadistic sense of humour to talk to._ Unmei silently added the last part, thinking that she didn't want to scare Konan away by saying she spent eight years talking to a ghost.

"I've only had Leader-san, and he isn't very talkative." Konan smiled slightly. She nodded goodbye to Unmei before softly closing Unmei's door.

Unmei assumed that Konan would come get her if she had to attend something, so Unmei climbed under her new bed sheets and fell asleep, she hadn't slept since she started training early last night when she couldn't fall asleep.

"_You betrayed me, Unmei." _

_Unmei was running towards the sad voice. She couldn't see anything in front of her. She felt that if she didn't run fast enough the voice would disappear and she'd never hear it again._

"_You killed us Unmei." _

_Two other voices joined in, Unmei was frantically trying to get to them but the voices kept changing direction. She couldn't tell where the voices were but she still tried to get there. Unmei started crying from frustration. _

"_I just want to get to you, how do I get to you?!" Unmei yelled at the voices. The voices didn't answer Unmei and she stood still to hear where they were._

"_We trusted you and you lied to us."_

"_I never lied! Where are you? I need you!" Unmei cried. She gave up on running to the voices and sunk to the dark surface below her. She curled up into a ball._

"_Don't you love us?" _

_The voices appeared in front of Unmei. She looked up to see her parents, beaten up and bloody. They stared at her but she couldn't see their eyes. Kisame stood next to her parents with Samehada in his hands._

"_DIE!"_

_Kisame swung Samehada._

Unmei woke up to her own yelling and someone pounding on the door to her room. She noticed cold sweat on her forehead and quickly wiped it before going to the door to see who was knocking.

"Are you alright? I heard yelling." An indifferent voice asked Unmei.

"Yes, I'm sorry did I bother you?" Unmei asked the person. He seemed about the same age as Unmei with black tied up hair and empty black eyes. Unmei thought that his eyes looked wiser than his body.

"No, I was about to go to my room when I passed yours and heard yelling." The person stated.

"I apologise, I was startled because of a dream. May I know your name?" Unmei asked politely. She didn't want to get on anyone's bad side, Hidan already freaked her out with his glares.

"I am Itachi Uchiha, and you are?" Itachi seemed nice to Unmei in an indifferent and reserved way. If they weren't rogues he would have made an excellent diplomat.

"My name is Unmei Shiryoku, I believe I've heard of you once, but I cannot remember where." Unmei didn't want to seem rude, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she sensed Itachi before, so she wanted to check if she'd been in the same area as him before.

"I was considered an S-rank criminal when Konoha kidnapped me so that I wouldn't interfere when they massacred my clan. I broke free in time to see them kill my younger brother so I killed the village's elders and left them. The village covered it up and said that I killed all of them in a rampage for power." Itachi didn't seem like the person that would share something like that openly, so Unmei hoped it was a good sign.

"My condolences, I don't know of the massacre though, so I can't know you through that." Unmei answered Itachi.

"It's alright, this happened when I was thirteen and my brother eleven, it must be too long ago for you to remember something like that." Itachi's eyes only seemed wiser to Unmei.

Unmei looked at Itachi's string to see that it was still bright, meaning that the person on the other end of the string was still alive. At least that's good news for Itachi, Unmei thought.

"Well since you shared some valuable information with me, I will return the sentiment. My clan specialises in sensing people's fate to the measure of who belongs together as soul mates. Would you like to know who you are fated to love forever?" Unmei rarely told people about their fate, but she made an exception for someone that needed good news.

"I have heard of your clan through a friend. If it would be no bother to you I wouldn't mind knowing." Itachi said with a higher-pitched indifference than before.

"Alright, the person fated to you is still alive and younger than you by two years. This person sadly lives in Konoha, so I doubt you would ever go back there again to actually see her. I know she's the same age as you brother so maybe you would know her, but if you do not wish to know her name since she lives there I will not give it to you." Unmei answered. She could clearly see the person at the other end if she focused on Itachi, so it looked like Unmei was staring intently at Itachi.

"I would like to know, maybe she was a friend of Sasuke's." Itachi answered. He didn't seem as indifferent as Unmei assumed he usually was by talking to him.

"The person you are fated to is Hinata Hyuuga." Unmei answered. She could see the girl in front of her with her lilac colored eyes and long black hair. She was currently in Konoha eating dinner with her family.

"I know her, she was a very quiet girl but she frequently liked to be in silent places, same as me." Itachi confirmed. Unmei smiled at him.

"I am sorry that you two cannot be together, I know the feeling." Unmei apologised to Itachi.

"Not necessarily." Itachi replied. He lightly smiled at Unmei, but it was so fast Unmei doubts ever seeing it.

"Have you returned from a mission?" Unmei asked Itachi so as to change the subject.

"Yes, my partner and I returned a few minutes ago, I was planning to reside in my room for the rest of the day. My room is next to yours." Itachi answered.

"Who is your partner? I don't know anyone here yet besides Konan." Unmei asked.

"I am." A voice replied that Unmei only heard in her nightmares.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N- Where am I going with this again? -_-**

"As I wanted to say, this is my partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. I will be going to my room now, please excuse me, Unmei-san." Itachi left Unmei. Just like that. Unmei started mentally cursing Itachi for putting her in an awkward situation. She wouldn't be surprised if he knew who she was the whole time and only waited so she would meet Kisame before leaving.

_That sneaky weasel. _Unmei slapped herself for thinking up bad puns. Somewhere in the recesses of Unmei's mind a drum was going _ba-dum-tss_ in order to annoy Unmei further.

"You don't have to hit yourself; I promise I'm not a dream." Kisame smirked at Unmei. Unmei didn't even know people could smirk but there he was defying Unmei's logic.

"Hello, Hoshigaki-san, how have you been?" Unmei smiled politely. She imagined this would irk Kisame to a point that he wouldn't defy lip-logic and mentally did a victory dance. Unmei could've sworn she saw Kisame's one eye twitch a little.

"Doing well since you've betrayed me, thanks. I've gone and joined a couple of criminals. Killed some people. The organisation might or might not have plans to take over the ninja world, you know, nothing too major. How about you?" Kisame stated bluntly. It was Unmei's turn to twitch. She knew Kisame as an aggressive person, sure, but that was when they were playing ninja, not when they were actually playing with ninjas' lives.

"Well, since you up and left me without bothering to hear my side of the story I've also been well thanks. I've left my clan and become a rogue ninja that randomly assassinates people in order to keep living in shitty hotels before I have to leave and kill some other bastard just because it would be good training for my abilities. Abilities which I had to discover on my own since you weren't there. Abilities I didn't even know I had but you didn't stay to hear that, did you?" Unmei stated coldly. She didn't feel like being ridiculed by someone who didn't know the full story.

"What are you talking about? You knew about your powers, how else could you have used them that day?" Kisame questioned Unmei.

"They were awakened that day, that's how." Unmei answered.

"That's not what I was told." Kisame said. He seemed extremely confused since his face was contorted in a strange way.

"I don't even care what you were told right now. You chose the person that told you over me. You chose to leave me when I needed you most. You couldn't stay with me because you thought I betrayed you, but I trusted you more than anyone in the whole world and you didn't even know me enough to think for a second that I didn't betray you. To me, it doesn't seem like _I_ was the one that betrayed _you. _Not that it matters now anyways, right? If you truly cared you would have at least came to see me to find out if I was dead or not, but you were so hurt by something you had no proof of that we're only meeting now, eight years later, and it isn't even because you wanted to see me." Unmei shut her door in Kisame's face and went into her bathroom to wash her face. If Unmei hadn't been busy with Itachi's string she would have sensed Kisame and left immediately.

Being so close to Kisame made emotions come rushing back to Unmei. She fed off of Kisame's energy by accident and now she was feeling again. She regretted ever being close to him because feelings from eight years ago were rushing back to her. She needed Kisame if she wanted her emotions to get better but Unmei feared he would be the very reason she would enjoy not having any emotions in the first place.

Unmei decided to take a bath so that she could calm down. It was hard for Unmei to imagine that someone who had killed so many people without much thought could be so overwhelmed by emotions.

"You saw him, huh?" Ghost appeared in front of Unmei.

"Yes." Unmei said with a strained voice.

"Poor dear, you're feeling the heartache all over again, aren't you?" Ghost asked as Unmei turned on the warm water. Unmei didn't bother to answer Ghost with anything but a simple nod.

"I'm sorry Unmei; it won't always be like this. I promise it'll be better, trust me, dead people know." Ghost rubbed Unmei's back soothingly out of habit. Even though Unmei couldn't feel Ghost's hand, she could feel her warm and motherly presence so she appreciated the comforting gesture. Ghost could possibly be the most sadistic teddy bear Unmei has ever met.

"All he had to do was stay." Unmei managed to say even though she felt like she had a massive lump in her throat. Ghost looked at Unmei with saddened eyes.

"Fate has a twisted way of letting everything fall into place, dear. If he had stayed maybe you would have missed out on something else important, or maybe he wouldn't have grown to really love you. If he stayed the both of you would only be mourning. That wouldn't have helped the relationship any." Ghost tried to comfort Unmei.

"I didn't need a relationship, Ghost. I needed Kisame." Unmei said.

"I know dear." Ghost replied. Unmei closed the tap.

"I'd like to bathe alone Ghost, would you mind?" Unmei asked Ghost.

"Enjoy your bath dear." Ghost smiled at Unmei one last time before vanishing. Unmei undressed herself and tested the water before climbing in to the tub.

Unmei hardly had time for herself to just think so she decided to take advantage of her time alone in the bathroom and close her eyes, relaxed.

Unmei figured that she would eventually have to face Kisame without feeling as if her heart would rip into a million pieces, but she wouldn't be able to do that today. She sunk further into the water. _If my parents were here they'd help me through this. What can I do mom?_

Unmei thought of any answer her parents would give her but only thought of one. _Be patient and listen, every action has a valid reason._ Unmei wasn't sure who would say that to her, but she imagined it would be a combination of her mom, Emiko and Ghost.

_All I have to do is wait. I shouldn't be so irrational. I should listen. _Unmei chanted to herself.

Unmei dressed herself in the nightgown Konan gave her before putting on her own black coat over it. Unmei wasn't raised to look exposed and any revealing clothes left Unmei feeling uncomfortable. Unmei planned on going back to sleep when there was a knock on her door so Unmei stood up from her bed to answer it.

"I am sorry to bother you, Unmei-san, but I would like to get your size fitting for the organization's cloak you are required to wear when on missions." A red-headed man with deep brown eyes looked at Unmei.

"Hello, I apologize for not knowing who you are, but may I please know you name?" Unmei smiled politely. The man seemed a bit older than her even though his face was quite young.

"My name is Sasori; I am the puppet master of the organisation." Sasori stated bluntly.

"Nice to meet you, if I may ask, why am I being fitted for a cloak when I'm not an official member yet?" Unmei asked Sasori, he seemed to be someone with answers.

"Because it would take a while to get ready and by the time it is your initiation would take place." Sasori answered.

"Oh, of course, please come inside." Unmei told Sasori. She would have liked to go to sleep but she didn't mind being bothered for a while, as long as it wasn't Kisame or a certain weasel Unmei decided to put in her mental 'asshole' list. Unmei got out of the way so that Sasori could enter her room.

"You're going to have to take off the coat; it's going to be too bulky to take correct measurements." Sasori told Unmei which made her a little nervous but she complied none the less, Unmei felt grateful that she chose to wear her bra.

"Don't worry about feeling exposed around me, I promise I'm not interested in you." Sasori stated bluntly as he ordered her to lift up her arms so he could measure her. Unmei would have felt hurt by his statement if it didn't relieve her nervousness. Unmei decided to take a peek at Sasori's string only to be shocked to find that he doesn't have one on his finger. With a little bit more concentration Unmei found that he actually did have a string on him, but it was coming directly from his chest. His fingers must not be real if the string attached itself to the closest thing that is part of the real Sasori.

"I am sorry to be blunt, but why isn't your body real?" Unmei asked Sasori, who looked at her mildly shocked. He continued measuring her waist before answering.

"I turned myself into a puppet." Sasori stated simply. Unmei accepted his answer and looked further at his string only to find out another surprising fact.

"Do you love someone in this building?" Unmei asked Sasori.

"I doubt I love anyone, but there is someone here that would sadden me if they were to die." Sasori answered. He seemed very neutral about Unmei's questioning.

"Is his name Deidara?" Unmei asked Sasori her final question.

"Yes it is. I see you've decided to use your abilities on me." Sasori answered Unmei.

"I apologise, it's a bad habit of mine." Unmei answered guiltily.

"That's alright. I was interested to see how it works. Your clan fascinated me a while back but they're quite secretive. I wanted to know how to turn people into puppets without chakra stings but they assured me that cannot be done with fate." Sasori stated. He looked focussed on her body as he talked.

"It can, actually, but it's a mutation so only a little amount of people would be able to do it. A good amount of the clan isn't aware of that though." Unmei told Sasori truthfully.

"I see. Are you one of those people?" Sasori asked Unmei.

"Yes I am." Unmei answered. Sasori looked up at her before removing his measuring tape from her body.

"I would enjoy seeing you in battle, maybe I can sometime? I'm finished measuring you." Sasori seemed at ease with Unmei and she briefly wondered if someone had briefed the members about her.

"I don't see why not. Thank you for measuring me Sasori-san." Unmei smiled at Sasori. Her emotions were calmed down a bit so she could actually feel happy.

"Goodnight Unmei-san." Sasori said as he stood in the doorway.

"Goodnight." Unmei replied before closing the door after Sasori. Unmei went back to her bed and got beneath the sheets once more. Unmei didn't think she was that tired but the moment her head landed on the pillow she was asleep.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N- I am so sorry for not updating sooner! **

"What about this one Unmei-san?" Konan asked Unmei while showing her a plain black shirt. Unmei stared at the shirt as if trying to find something wrong with it.

"I think that'll work. I'll try it on." Konan looked extremely relieved and added the shirt to a very small pile of clothes Unmei would be willing to try on. Konan knocked on Unmei's door early in the morning so that they could get her some clothes at a village nearby and Konan soon found out that it was harder to get Unmei clothes than she originally thought.

Unmei walked around the shop and looked through all sorts of clothes, contemplating most before deciding to stick with one style. Konan finally managed to convince Unmei to buy a few things that fit her figure after a couple of hours so that they could go and eat some lunch. Unmei reluctantly decided to buy four pairs of pants and shirts that she was comfortable with and three dresses she wasn't comfortable with. Unmei wasn't sure if she would be able to fight in the dresses but Konan convinced her after saying that it might attract her targets. Unmei immediately agreed.

Konan chose a small tea shop to sit at and Unmei quickly agreed with her since she was feeling tired herself. Unmei looked glad that she could spend some time with Konan like normal friends would because Unmei never really had a friend besides Kisame, even if they met because of an organization filled with S-rank criminals. Unmei chose Jasmine tea and a slice of strawberry cake while Konan settled on Green tea and dango. Unmei smiled at the normalcy of their day together.

"What do you think of the members you've met so far?" Konan asked Unmei while they were waiting for their order.

"Well let's see... I don't like Hidan at all, he creeps me out. Kakuzu is fine, he didn't bother me much. I like Sasori since he was friendly to me. The leader seemed nice. Itachi could be a friend but he was an asshole so I don't know and you're awesome!" Unmei listed the members she's met.

"Well what about Kisame? I heard you met him." Konan asked Unmei with a mischievous smile on her face. Unmei scrunched up her face in disgust.

"I'd like to forget about that moment, it didn't go too well." Unmei sighed. She wished Kisame would just forget the past, but how could she expect him to forget the very thing she couldn't?

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Konan looked guilty.

"Don't worry about it." Unmei smiled as the waitress brought their orders. She felt like a little bit of her old self had returned to her by treating Konan like a friend.

When Unmei and Konan arrived at the headquarters, Unmei didn't expect Itachi to be waiting for her in her room. Which was locked.

"And what exactly are _you_ doing here?" Unmei asked, miffed about their previous encounter. Itachi smiled slyly at her, as if he knew what he did wrong.

"You need to go on a mission with Kisame and I, to test how good you are at killing random unsuspecting people." Itachi stated. Unmei almost laughed at his bluntness if she wasn't so pissed at being supervised by Kisame. She knew she had to be tested by someone eventually, she just didn't want it to be someone that hates her. Through everything Unmei was feeling she couldn't help feeling her heart leap at seeing Kisame along with her anger.

"Where would this unsuspecting person be?" Unmei asked so that she'd know how long she needed to travel with her temporary partners.

"In Kirigakure." Kisame said smiling maliciously. Unmei couldn't help but feel giddy about going to Kirigakure. If she had to kill someone she would be glad to do it in the very village that caused her suffering. Unmei smiled at her new partners.

"When are we leaving?" Unmei sounded almost excited. She knew to keep her evil intent in check but she couldn't help it when it came to Kirigakure. She never forgave the village for wanting to wipe out her clan. She wasn't a perfect person and Unmei knew that. She had figured a long time ago that she was the sort of person to keep grudges even if she didn't intentionally want to. Unmei feared that her subconscious was a very dark place and that fear is being realised every passing day.

"In about an hour. You should go and pack your things for a few days." Itachi stated in a demanding way. In a way Itachi reminded Unmei of one of her clan elders. Always demanding and never truly satisfied.

"Great, see you then." Unmei greeted her partners before practically running to her room to pack some clothes and sort the little weapons she had with her. She preferred long range weapons since she mostly did hand to hand combat when she was near her enemies. It helped that something constantly attached to her served as a weapon.

Unmei got to her room as fast as she could and packed one normal outfit as well as one of the dresses Konan wanted her to buy just in case she needed to attract her enemy instead of avoiding being seen. Unmei packed a couple pairs of underwear and a few first aid items. She attached a few senbon needles to a weapons holder on her left arm and a dagger she kept for emergencies in a holder on her thigh. She felt ready for her trip since she usually went on trips with fewer items than she currently had on her and survived well.

After feeling very satisfied with her quick packing job, Unmei decided to wait for her temporary partners so she went to the entrance of the headquarters with her backpack. On her way to the entrance she picked up three bottles of water from the kitchen. When Unmei arrived at the entrance Itachi and Kisame were already waiting for her. Unmei felt slightly disappointed that she wasn't the first one there since she packed so quickly, but she assumed her partners were used to it by now and most likely had ready-packed bags waiting in their rooms.

"Are you ready to leave?" Itachi asked Unmei, almost demanding her to say yes with his intimidating stare.

"Yes, I just went to get us all a bottle of water so that we have something to drink." Unmei answered as she handed Kisame and Itachi a bottle each. Kisame looked amused when she did this.

"You know, you really are cute. Like an innocent little child. We have containers of water sealed in the bags, we don't need you to bring us a tiny bottle that won't even last half a day." Kisame chuckled as Unmei started glaring at him. She thought they would get more water along the way, as she did when she was hunting after some idiot that pissed off some village.

"Well fine, don't take my water. See if I care if your gills dry out, asshole." Unmei huffed as she grabbed the bottle from his hand and started walking out of the headquarters. Kisame just laughed at Unmei and brushed off her little insult. She always got offended easily. Itachi decided to get in between Unmei and Kisame in case they decided to skin each other. He sighed, as if tired from the trip already.

"If we hurry we can be there in three days." Itachi told Unmei in a matter-of-fact way as they were getting ready to start running. Kisame stood next to him, silent except for the excited chuckles he made as he waited for his teammates to finish talking.

"Good." Unmei grinned maliciously and got ready to run. As if the team was in sync, everyone sprinted at the same time, gliding gracefully along paths and trees to get there as fast as possible.


	10. Chapter 9

Unmei was the first to arrive in Kirigakure. Kisame arrived a few seconds later and Itachi walked through the gate with a look of disinterest.

"Told you I would win!" Unmei grinned at Kisame, now being almost the same height with their identity masking genjutsu. Kisame blended in nicely as he traded in his blue skin for a slightly tanned cloak with light brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was average height for a man and wore plain brown and black clothes. They were supposed to look like nomads, and when Unmei saw herself and the others in their new looks, she had to admit that Itachi made them all fit in with crowds nicely.

Unmei looked slightly taller than she actually was with black hair and dark eyes. She also had a bit of a tan and she wore what looked to be a plain blue dress with sandals. She had to admit that her look didn't change much, her skin, eyes and hair only looked darker. Her chubby cheeks, which never quite fit in with her slender built, were a bit thinner. She looked like a respectable young lady and that made her frown. _I look like the person my clan would have wanted me to be. _

Itachi, like Kisame, looked nothing like himself. He had sandy brown hair and light blue eyes with a full face and an even fuller tummy. His attire was similar to Kisame's, only he wore a couple of extra layers on.

Unmei giggled to herself as she looked at her teammates. They both glared at her in their own ways with Kisame's glare being exaggerated and Itachi's looking deadly. Unmei was far too excited to care, though.

"Come on let's get ourselves to a bar so that we can gather some information on our victim." Itachi stated. Unmei gave him a deadpan look.

"What's his name and what does he look like?" Unmei asked professionally.

"His name is Zabuza Momochi, he is approximately thirty years old. A rogue ANBU known for various abductions of children and women. He is tall with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes and small eyebrows." Itachi replied mechanically, most likely due to memorising the guy's file.

"How much time do we have to complete this mission?" Unmei asked again since she was gathering all information she could. This was a mission to test her, after all.

"We have a week to eradicate him and return his body as well as any unclaimed people kidnapped by him." Itachi answered her.

"Give me two days to do this alone, if I fail I don't deserve to be called a tracker." Unmei said coldly. She was preparing herself to kill someone.

"Fine by me, less work!" Kisame answered, smiling to Itachi.

"Fine, but you'll be under constant watch." Itachi answered. Unmei smiled at both of them.

"Most people in this area are relatively innocent people. Some have been part of petty crimes, but that's it. The target is not here." Unmei said, looking past Itachi and Kisame to where Ghost stood, observing everything. Ghost smiled at Unmei.

"Glad to see you haven't forgotten any training these past few days." Ghost smirked. They were in business mode. Unmei didn't answer. Kisame and Itachi wouldn't believe her if she started talking to random air.

Unmei disappeared to where she knew the forest was. The very same place she had met Orochimaru for the first and hopefully final time.

She had been watching him for two hours, observing silently. She could feel her emotions creeping up on her and knew that Kisame was near her, but she didn't mind being watched. She knew what her victims felt like.

"He has a loved one." Unmei whispered to Ghost. The fact that her emotions were returning made being an assassin very much harder than she would have originally thought, so she tried making herself feel numb to the penetrating emotions slithering at the back of her mind.

"I know he has dear." Ghost smiled sadly.

"His loved one isn't too far from here, which must be where his base is." Unmei whispered again. She had gotten used to doing that over the years.

"You know what to do." Ghost said simply.

"Right." Unmei said as she sprang into action, releasing her string to become the chains she had become so familiar with. She moved as silently as she could from above her target, easily spotting an opening. She jumped behind him to start strangling him, only to find that he had become a pool of water.

Confused, Unmei jumped back into the tree. She had seen his string. She had latched on to it for two hours. How could he just disappear?

"Looking for me?" Zabuza asked from behind Unmei. She smiled and turned around.

"Why yes, I was, Zabuza Momochi. How's your pretty little lover?" Unmei started provoking him, she didn't like any bit of what she was doing, but she had to take him out and if provoking him brought down his focus, so be it. Zabuza's eyes widened when he heard Unmei talk about his lover, whether out of anger or surprise, Unmei didn't know.

"How do you know about her?" Zabuza practically yelled at Unmei.

"I know a lot about you. I also really don't want to do what I need to right now. I know what it's like to run from Kirikagure, but it's either your life or mine, and I'm no hero." Unmei told Zabuza. She was trying to distract him further, even if she did it by telling the truth.

"Don't worry, Zabuza, your wife is already dead. You don't have to gather money anymore. She's fine now." Unmei told him sincerely. While he processed the information, Unmei sent out her chains slowly. She engulfed him with her powers. He seemed to look sad, but suddenly he started laughing.

"Heh, should have known trying to save her was useless." Zabuza stopped laughing. It seemed to be a cruel joke.

"I'm sorry that your life has been what it is. At least you'll see her soon, right?" Unmei felt silly, trying to comfort her target. She wouldn't have cared if Kisame wasn't so damned close to her. Zabuza seemed to release stubborn tears.

"I won't beg, but you seem like a good person. Please, just take care of my son." Zabuza looked at Unmei with a sliver of hope.

"You were a good person too, Zabuza. You just had different circumstances. I was already planning on taking care of him. Don't worry. I won't let Kiri have him. Have a good rest, Zabuza." Unmei smiled at him as her chains blackened the already grey string hanging from his finger.

Unmei let him down from her chains and ran, following the soon to be disappearing string. She had to get to the base as soon as possible. When she arrived she didn't expect the place to look so... serene. She ran through the almost abandoned place and to retrieve the unclaimed children. She found them all in a common room, looking calm. They patiently waited for someone, and seemed surprised when she arrived.

"I'm here to take you all home." Unmei told the three children in the room. They smiled and started crying tears of joy. They all were from wealthy families, Unmei told herself, since they were kidnapped for money. They didn't seem to be in bad shape either, so Unmei figured that they weren't treated like hostages and cried because they were homesick. She sent the children outside and told them to look for two men. As they ran, Unmei went to a different room.

In this room sat one person beside a bed with his deceased mother holding his hand from her lying position on the bed. He had tear streaks along his young and chubby face, but he didn't seem to be crying anymore. He looked up at Unmei and she could see the pain and devastation in his eyes.

"Hello Haku, my name is Unmei. I'm here to take care of you, alright?" Unmei slowly walked closer to Haku and bent down to his level. Haku simply nodded at her.

"I'm going to take you to a wonderful place with lots of friends and people that will take good care of you, but I'll also check up on you regularly and send you letters to make sure you're alright. I promise you'll be safe and loved. If not by anyone else, then by me." Unmei told the young boy with long hair.

"Is my daddy gone too?" The little boy smiled sadly at Unmei and she had to fight herself not to start crying and just hold the boy.

"Yes, Haku. He's with your mommy now." Unmei gave up on fighting herself and held the little boy with tears in her eyes. The little boy started crying along with her and together they sat on the floor next to the bed safely containing his mother's corpse. Unmei didn't know for how long she held on to the boy, but eventually he fell asleep in her embrace. She silently picked him up and walked out of the abandoned building where Kisame and Itachi were waiting for her.

"Good job, you finished early. We returned all of the children as well as Zabuza's body." Itachi told Unmei. She composed herself, looking at the sleeping child in her arms before deciding to answer.

"I'll be taking him to Konoha. It's the safest place for him at the moment. He'll surely die if he stays in Kirikagure." Unmei stated, she knew that they were listening when she told Zabuza that she'd take care of his son, so they didn't question it. Kisame looked at Unmei thoughtfully for a second before asking Itachi if he could talk to her alone. Itachi nodded and told them to meet him at the Hotel they booked into when they were finished.

It was silent between them for a moment as Kisame tried to put his thoughts into words.

"You know, this reminds me of myself in some ways." Kisame stated suddenly. Unmei looked at him with her eyes contorted into a sad look.

"I know what you mean. He didn't run into some guy that would later adopt him though." Unmei stated bitterly. She hated it when kids weren't safe and secure. It made her think of the past a lot.

"Maybe not, but he seems to have someone care about him already." Kisame smiled sincerely. Unmei hadn't seen that smile since they were children playing ninja and it made her feel as if her heart had a hole in it.

"I'm sorry." Unmei told Kisame. He seemed confused for a while, but soon after decided to speak as well.

"I'm sorry too, I didn't think things through. I just thought you betrayed me at the time and I didn't.. I just didn't want to feel the way I did. I trusted you and the very thought of you not trusting me back felt like hell to me. I felt alone. You weren't the best friend I trusted anymore and the people I had thought of as my parents died. The Akatsuki promised me loyalty so I followed them. I'm just... I'm sorry alright? If I had known any better I never would have left, but I was an idiot." Kisame stopped talking, but it seemed as if he could have said more if he didn't choke on his words.

"I blamed you a lot, you know? For my pain, the numbness I later felt. I wanted to die for a long time. I was alone, but I grew out of it. I don't know if I forgive you yet, but I believe I learned that it wasn't completely your fault. I was the one that stayed bitter about it. I refused to forgive you and in turn that hurt me... I changed who I was because of what I did. I missed you a lot though, and I know it seems like I hate you... but, ah, I don't. Not really." Unmei smiled at Kisame. The moment took a lot of weight from her shoulders, not because she apologised to Kisame, but because she indirectly had apologised to herself, as well.

"Let's just... pick up where we left off?" Kisame asked hopefully. Haku shifted where he was asleep in Unmei's arms and Unmei made sure he was still asleep before answering.

"I think I'd like that." Unmei smiled at Kisame. She had wanted to be his friend for years and Unmei felt that she could finally allow herself to be just that.

"There's some things you don't know about me though. So I think we should get that out of the way." Unmei said seriously.

"Like?" Kisame asked her, he knew that they had both changed in terms of age and occupations, but he thought she would still be the Unmei he knew, just a little more bitter. Unmei smiled at him and took a deep breath.

"Well for starters, the reason my parents could never adopt you." Unmei smiled at Kisame's confused face.

"I thought it was because of the lineage being disrupted?" Kisame asked her.

"That's what they told me too, but just before you left I figured it out." Unmei almost laughed at Kisame's eagerness to know.

"Go on woman!" Kisame almost growled in anticipation, making Unmei laugh.

"It's because they didn't want my soul mate to be my brother." Unmei almost thought that Kisame had died by the vacant look on his face.

"We're... Soulmates?" Kisame asked slowly.

"Oh no, I lied just to see the look on your face! Of course, you weren't just a best friend to me, you know. I actually wanted to tell you the day after you left, but, you see, you left so." Unmei answered nonchalantly, even though she felt like her heart was racing.

"You know, I left because it hurt. It hurt so much more because you weren't just a best friend to me, either." Unmei smiled at his indirect confession. She felt as if her life was finally beginning to turn around.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N- Happy new years, everyone! **

After a lot of convincing on Unmei and Kisame's part, Itachi notified Leader that they would be getting to the headquarters a couple of days later than planned. Even though their mission ender a week early, he still felt obligated to let their leader know about their detour before getting back. Itachi wanted to leave Kisame and Unmei by themselves so that they can drop off the kid, but he didn't want to miss out on a chance to see his supposed "soul mate" as Unmei had told him. So they left for Konoha the very same day.

Unmei made sure that the little boy was comfortable as she gave the sleeping Haku a piggy back ride as they headed for Konoha. She slightly hunched over so that Haku wouldn't fall off since he wasn't conscious enough to hold on to her. Kisame offered to carry her backpack for her while she carried the boy.

They wanted to drop Haku off as soon as possible. Not because they didn't want him to be with them, but it would give Unmei and Kisame more time to actually talk about what they were feeling towards each other. They could have left a day later and still be on time, but Unmei didn't want Haku to be in Kirikagure for a moment longer. Kisame secretly thought that Unmei didn't want to be in Kiri for a moment longer, either.

Unmei didn't know how to confront Kisame about what she felt. Even though she apologised, it didn't feel like they would be able to act like they would have right way. Unmei had felt hurt, anger, sadness and betrayal towards Kisame for the past eight years and it felt to her that eight years of struggling wouldn't simply vanish with one apology. Unmei felt conflicted. On the one hand she just wanted to let it go and feel happy with Kisame again, on the other hand she wanted space to justify her emotions and to get over all of the hurt she allowed herself to be overcome with for so long. Unmei needed time and she didn't know whether or not Kisame felt the same. Unmei knows that she loves Kisame, but she also knows that right now she doesn't want to love Kisame. She briefly wondered if you could love someone without liking them. She had plenty of time for thought on this trip, seeing as it was going to be quite a silent one. Unmei shrugged her negative thoughts and instead focused on what she would be doing when they get into Konoha.

"Miss, are we going to Konoha?" A now awake Haku asked a couple of hours into their trip. It startled Unmei since she didn't even feel him wake up. It felt like Unmei's movements were automatic as she forgot about the outside world in favour for the internal one.

"Yes, we will be there in about a day. Just relax, Haku. Are you hungry?" Unmei asked the child on her back with some concern in her voice. She didn't want to starve a child on her first time taking care of one. Unmei revised her thoughts, she didn't want to starve a child ever, and no matter that it was her first time taking care of one.

"No, but could I have some water please?" Haku asked politely. It surprised Unmei that a child of a supposed brutal villain could be so well-mannered.

"Of course. Kisame would you be so kind as to give Haku some water please?" Unmei asked Kisame, since she still had Haku on her back she couldn't really do anything with her hands, but she could stand straighter since he was now conscious enough to help support himself. Kisame reached into his bag and gave Haku a canteen filled with water.

"Thank you Mister Same". Haku smiled happily at Kisame and drank the water gleefully. Unmei laughed at the nickname given to Kisame.

"So I'm not the only child to ever call you that, Same." Unmei giggled as she teased Kisame. Kisame laughed back at Unmei.

"My name's not that hard, I've no idea why you called me that." Kisame pointed out to Unmei.

"Same suited you more, you were cute back then so you deserved a cute nickname. Kisame sounded too grown up." Unmei grinned at Kisame. Kisame blushed slightly because of Unmei's words but smiled none the less.

"May I walk on my own now Miss Mei?" Haku asked Unmei after finishing his water. Unmei nodded and let him down gently. They decided to slow down their pace a bit since they've been keeping good pace.

"So how old are you, Haku?" Unmei asked the little boy in order to keep him preoccupied. Haku suddenly grinned and began counting on his fingers.

"I'm this old!" Haku stated while holding up 4 tiny fingers. Unmei smiled at Haku.

"Wow, almost a full hand!" Unmei gushed at the little boy. He seemed so cute and innocent to her. She didn't want anyone to ever hurt him. Kisame smiled at Unmei. He hadn't smiled so much for a positive reason since the last time he saw her. It felt different for both him and Itachi to have him acting like this.

Soon it became time for the four of them to set up for the night and rest before continuing the road to Konoha. Unmei had set up the sleeping bags, Itachi went to fetch some wood, Kisame built the fire and Haku chased a moth he spotted near the fire.

"Miss Mei, can I sleep next to you tonight?" Haku asked Unmei, forgetting about his winged companion, which in turn flew in the flame and became tiny ashes. Kisame seemed amused at that.

"Of course you can." Unmei told Haku and he smiled before running off to look for another moth. Unmei prepared some packaged meals for everyone and called Haku back so that he could eat. As Unmei was walking with a pot filled with water that now cooled to the point of drinking, Kisame bumped into her as he was walking to get his meal. Unmei squealed lightly as she dropped the pot when falling over. She groaned and prepared to get up except, she couldn't.

Above Unmei, on his hands and knees, was a blushing Kisame.

"Are you alright?" Kisame asked Unmei. Unmei could feel her face heat up as she stared up into Kisame's deep black eyes. She wanted to answer him but words felt lost to her at the moment.

"Uhm, haha, sorry about that! Yes I'm fine, are you?" Unmei answered in a rushed manner. She wasn't used to being this close to anyone and that made her nervous.

"I'm fine too." Kisame smiled at Unmei which in turn caused Unmei to blush harder.

"Would you mind getting off me?" Unmei asked meekly. She felt extremely uncomfortable with their position, but Kisame seemed fine.

"Nah I'm good." Kisame smirked at Unmei. Unmei glared up at him. The bastard was making her nervous on purpose.

_That's fine, I'll return the favour. _Unmei thought to herself as she suddenly smiled up at Kisame. Kisame looked at her curiously. Suddenly Unmei hugged Kisame close to herself, which startled Kisame. Unmei used this to her advantage and flipped them over, thus landing on top of Kisame. Unmei now sat on Kisame's stomach and stared down at him with a victorious smile on her face.

"Not so fun now, is it?" Unmei mocked Kisame.

"I'm still good." Kisame smirked up at Unmei, effectively making her blush once more.

"Never mind, you win!" Unmei gave up as she stood up from Kisame and went to fetch her food. She huffed in an annoyed manner on her way there.

"Ha, too easy." Kisame bragged as he went to get his food as well. Unmei didn't seem to notice that he also had a bright blush on his face, but Itachi and Haku did and they both smiled to each other knowingly.

As everyone was eating Haku opted to sit by Itachi and leave Unmei and Kisame alone. Itachi allowed this and they quietly talked to each other as Unmei and Kisame ate in awkward silence.

"Well I guess we should go to sleep, who will be keeping first watch?" Unmei asked Itachi after their mostly silent meal. Haku seemed about ready to fall over and sleep anywhere he could.

"I'll keep first watch." Itachi answered simply.

"Alright then, good night everyone!" Unmei exclaimed as she climbed into her sleeping bag. Haku stumbled over to Unmei and stared at her for a moment before speaking.

"May I sleep with you, Miss Mei?" Haku asked Unmei politely. Unmei would have squealed at the cuteness if she wasn't so tired. Somewhere in the background Kisame spluttered at Haku's choice of words, which caused Itachi to smirk.

"Sure Haku, hop in!" Unmei answered happily. Haku got into the sleeping bag and snuggled closer to Unmei. He looked over Unmei's shoulder and stuck his tongue out at Kisame before hugging Unmei and closing his eyes. Kisame slightly twitched at the little boy's antics. He grumbled as he got into his sleeping bag and went to sleep. Itachi had to stop himself from laughing at Kisame.

Itachi and Haku's plan seemed to be working well.

The next morning Unmei woke everyone up with some breakfast so that they could get to Konoha early. Haku could almost constantly be seen very close to Unmei, usually helping her out with simple tasks. Kisame seemed especially grumpy as Unmei giggled at Haku when he offered some more help.

"Are you jealous of a little kid?" Itachi questioned Kisame secretly.

"Tch, no! Why would I be?" Kisame answered in an annoyed manner. Itachi smiled to himself.

"Miss Mei, are you married?" Haku asked Unmei casually. Unmei smiled down at him.

"No I am not Haku, why do you ask?" Unmei answered Haku. Kisame could've sworn he saw the kid give him an evil looking smile before looking back at Unmei.

"Will you marry me, Miss Mei?" Haku asked politely. Unmei blushed and giggled slightly. Kisame seemed just about ready to murder a four year old. Itachi seemed to be enjoying the situation.

_Well it's not like she'll say yes. _Kisame thought to himself. He was very satisfied with his revelation.

"Sure!" Unmei grinned at a happy looking Haku. He was only four after all, of course he wouldn't be serious. After all, his soul mate wasn't even born yet, Unmei noted.

_Wait... WHAT?! _Kisame jumped up from the log he was sitting on in alarm.

"What's wrong Mister Same? Don't you want Miss Mei to marry me?" Haku asked Kisame innocently. Kisame glared at the child.

"No I don't" Kisame growled at Haku. Haku simply smiled at Kisame, as if he knew that Kisame would act like this.

"Why not?" Haku asked. Itachi smiled at Haku. Their plan worked out better than they thought it would. Unmei looked at Kisame, confused at the situation.

"Because I want to!" Kisame answered angrily. Haku and Itachi both smiled at each other in accomplishment and Unmei looked very surprised.

"Okay! You can have Miss Mei!" Haku laughed at Kisame and went over to Itachi for the treat he was promised if he played along. Unmei saw and finally understood the situation so she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kisame asked Unmei. He was very annoyed at the fact that Unmei seemed to enjoy his situation.

"You were fooled by a four year old." Unmei stated as she laughed further and pointed in Itachi's direction. Kisame looked over at what Unmei was pointing at and saw Haku eat some candy that Itachi gave him, The situation made a lot more sense for Kisame now.

"Well you didn't say no to me." Kisame suddenly smiled at Unmei, which caused her to blush. Unmei would have liked to point out that Kisame didn't even really ask her, but she let it go in favour of teasing him some more.

"I didn't say yes either!" Unmei teased a depressed looking Kisame.


	12. Chapter 11

Unmei, Itachi and Kisame were under the same appearance changing jutsu once more as they entered Konoha. They stated that they wanted to put the boy they found in the orphanage here and security let them through. Haku was once again on Unmei's back as they neared the orphanage.

"Will you be alright here, Haku?" Unmei asked worried. In the past two days she had become very attached to Haku and regularly fretted over him. Kisame still felt miffed about the prank Haku and Itachi had pulled on him, but he admitted that the kid did have skill and he looked forward to seeing the kid become a great ninja when he was older. Itachi liked his tiny temporary apprentice.

"I think I'll be fine Miss Mei. This town seems a lot friendlier than the other one!" Haku exclaimed happily. Unmei was glad that she didn't leave Haku in Kiri. He didn't deserve the kind of treatment that he would surely get.

Suddenly a girl bumped into Itachi. Unmei would've felt sorry for the girl if she couldn't already see who she was.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" A teenaged Hinata apologised to a disguised Itachi.

"It's alright, I should have looked where I was going as well." Itachi smiled at Hinata. He seemed to be quite in character with his fake identity. Hinata blushed a deep scarlet before excusing herself and running off.

"Ah, young love." Unmei teased Itachi. Itachi simply brushed her off as he looked back to the retreating girl.

"Promise you'll visit?" Haku asked Unmei with tearful eyes. She had to stop herself from bursting into tears and taking him with her, but she knew that he would one day excel and she didn't want to hold him back. A young boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes looked at the situation from next to the orphanage manager.

"Of course. I'll visit as much as I can and I'll send you letters and gifts. You'll never be alone Haku." Unmei smiled down at Haku and hugged him tightly. Next Haku went to Kisame and hugged him as well.

"Please promise you'll take care of him." Unmei asked the manager. The manager was a kind old woman that reminded Unmei a lot of Emiko. The old woman smiled kindly at her before nodding. She was a good woman and took great care of all of her children with the help of the blonde boy next to her, who regularly came to play with the children when he wasn't on missions or devouring ramen.

Haku went over to Itachi when he was finished talking to a now blushing Kisame and also hugged him tightly.

"I'm sure he'll make lots of friends here, and if he doesn't I'll be his friend, believe it!" The blonde boy smiled kindly at Unmei. Unmei almost started crying as she grabbed the boy only a few years younger than her and gave him a hug. She knew the boy was a good person.

When Haku finished up with Itachi he was ready to go inside and start his new life.

"Good luck, Kid." Kisame told Haku as he put an arm over Unmei's shoulder. He could see that she wasn't taking this situation very well so he tried to comfort her as much as he could.

Unmei decided that she wanted to leave Konoha as fast as possible after saying goodbye to Haku, but Itachi asked if they could just stop for some dango before they go. He convinced Unmei by adding that sweets will make her feel better.

Itachi decided that Unmei and Kisame could sit and eat their dango in peace as he just grabbed his and told them that he was going for a walk around town for old time's sake while they enjoyed some time alone. Kisame quickly agreed to this.

"Are all missions you go on this complicated?" Unmei asked Kisame casually as they sat by a table in the cafe.

"Nah we don't usually care about what happens to people after we leave." Kisame stated simply.

"I could never leave a child alone if I know that I can help." Unmei stated stubbornly. Kisame laughed at her.

"I know. You're a lot like your mother and father in that aspect." Kisame told Unmei warmly. He had the highest respect for her parents.

"I really miss them." Unmei stated sadly. She finds all of the emotions she now feels after spending so much time with Kisame strange, but they weren't all unwelcome.

"I do too, but the more time I spend with you the more I see them in you so it feels like parts of them are still here with me." Kisame said softly. He wasn't used to talking about his emotions like this, but Unmei brought out the honest and caring side of him.

"Thank you, Kisame. I appreciate that you think of me like that." Unmei smiled at Kisame. Kisame started to feel uncomfortable so he decided to change the subject.

"So since you're so good with children, do you want any of your own in the future?" Kisame asked Unmei.

"I have no idea! I wouldn't know how to treat my kid. What if the child ends up hating me?" Unmei freaked out a little which made Kisame laugh at her. She always did over think things.

"Aww come on! No one could ever hate you! I'm sure your kid will follow you around all the time and be just like you!" Kisame exclaimed. He hated it when Unmei felt bad about herself. Unmei smiled at Kisame warmly.

"Don't you mean our kid mister 'I want to get married to you because of a four year old'." Unmei laughed as Kisame blushed. He had hoped that Unmei had forgotten about that.

"Does that mean that you're saying yes?" Kisame teased Unmei back.

"You never really asked you know, you just said that you wanted to marry me." Unmei stated with a smile.

"If I asked would you say yes?" Kisame asked a little more seriously. It surprised Unmei a little and she blushed at his question.

"I don't know. I wouldn't really say no I guess, but don't get any ideas! We've just become friends. Don't you think that would be moving a little too fast? A lot too fast actually!" Unmei started to get stressed and her heart started beating faster as she blushed more. _How could I marry someone that I haven't known for eight years? Why does it sound so appealing to marry Kisame? Shouldn't there be more resistance towards a guy that hurt me so much?_ Kisame stared at Unmei as she freaked out.

"You know we've always been a lot more than friends Unmei. Why would that change now? Even after all of this time apart I still love you as much as I did when I was a kid. Don't you? I mean sure we've had our differences but the two of us made up didn't we? Or do you still feel the same about me as you did a week ago?" Kisame seemed a little hurt that she stressed so much over this topic.

"I didn't know you felt that way." Unmei simply stated. She seemed to be thinking very deeply. Kisame felt annoyed that she didn't answer any of his questions.

"Don't you?" Kisame pressed as he became worried at the thought that he was the only one feeling this way.

"I love you, Kisame." Unmei started as she blushed deeply. "I've loved you ever since I've known you, and even though we've had our differences, I promise never to keep secrets from you again if you promise never to leave me again." Kisame looked at Unmei. He didn't think she would be so open. She usually forced him to get answers indirectly.

"I'll never leave you again, I promise." Kisame stated. Loyalty meant a lot to him and this promise was not to be taken lightly.

"Well then if you won't leave me then I'll just have to marry you, won't I?" Unmei smiled at Kisame. Kisame laughed in a relieved way at Unmei's words.

"Yes you'll just have to." Kisame grinned.

As the three of them walked back to the headquarters, Unmei and Kisame talked the whole way. They caught up by telling each other of all the missions they've been getting and of all the successes and failures that they've experienced.

"So you can see a lot from a person just by looking at the string?" Kisame asked Unmei in wonder of her powers.

"Yes I can. It's kind of weird really. Sometimes I find things out that I really didn't want to know about the person so I usually shut it out unless I'm on missions or very curious about the person." Unmei smiled.

"But who taught you? Or did you just know what to do immediately?" Kisame asked and Unmei looked at him guiltily. She had completely forgotten to tell him about Ghost.

"Some things I knew how to do immediately, like touching the strings and forming them into weapons. Other things I had to learn from this ghost lady." Unmei smiled at Kisame's confusion.

Suddenly Ghost decided to make herself known.

"Even though I told you not to tell anyone about me, I was wondering when you're going to let him know that I'm here." Ghost smiled at Kisame and Unmei. Itachi stared at the ghost warily and just shook his head and moved farther ahead of them, a little spooked that a Ghost had been following them.

"What the hell?! Have you been here the whole time?!" Kisame asked in surprise. Unmei enjoyed this quite a lot and she laughed at his reaction.

"No, not the whole time. I have better things to do than follow a couple of lovesick people around, you know. I'm the person that informed Unmei about her powers and taught her everything she knows. She sometimes still asks for my help on missions. I have watched over her since she was born, but I believe it is my time to leave this world soon." Ghost smiled at Unmei as she spoke.

"Why?" Unmei asked, disappointed that one of her friends had to leave her.

"Don't fret, child, you'll see me again soon. Just not right now. Take good care of her, Kisame. She means a whole lot to me." And just like that Ghost disappeared.

Unmei looked sad so Kisame went and hugged her. She smiled up at Kisame.

"She said that you'll see her again soon. So don't worry about it, alright?" Kisame comforted her and Unmei smiled at him.

"I'm back!" Unmei told Konan as she hugged her. Konan smiled at Unmei as they went to Unmei room to catch up.

"So how was the mission?" Konan asked Unmei with a smile on her face.

"Oh it was alright. Nothing truly eventful happened. I saved a little boy, Kisame and I made up, we took the little boy to Konoha, Kisame asked if I would marry him, I promised the little boy that I would write him, Kisame asked if I wanted kids and now we're back here." Unmei smiled as she told Konan of her little trip.

"Wait... what?" Konan asked Unmei.

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you. Would you be my maid of honour?" Unmei smiled as Konan started to grin.


End file.
